Our Lady of Swarzewo, Queen of the Polish Sea

Advocación mariana de Swarzewo (Pomerania)

According to the local traditionthe image of the Virgin came to the area of Puck (Pomerania) by sea and was especially guarded by the fishermen, who invoked her as a protector in the dangerous waters of the Baltic. In this context, the title of "Queen of the Polish Sea" and patron of the fishermen of the pomeranium coast. However, the legendary details of the remote origin of the sculpture (author, first source, possible foundational miracles) are not historically verifiable in available sources; they are considered elements of popular piety and oral tradition, not of documented history.

Main data

Origin and history

According to the local traditionthe image of the Virgin came to the area of Puck (Pomerania) by sea and was especially guarded by the fishermen, who invoked her as a protector in the dangerous waters of the Baltic. In this context, the title of "Queen of the Polish Sea" and patron of the fishermen of the pomeranium coast. However, the legendary details of the remote origin of the sculpture (author, first source, possible foundational miracles) are not historically verifiable in available sources; they are considered elements of popular piety and oral tradition, not of documented history.

As for the documented historysources indicate that this is a Gothic image of the Virgin with the Child, dating around the XV-XVI centuries, which was in the region of Pomerania and saved from iconoclasia during the period of the wars and religious tensions of the XVI-XVII centuries. In this context, many Marian images were destroyed or removed from the cult, but Swarzewo's was preserved and continued to be venerated. The image was later linked to the Marian shrine of Swarzewoon the coast of Pomerania, where devotion was consolidated as a focus of regional pilgrimages. The memory of this preservation in times of iconoclasia is a stable part of the history of the sanctuary and largely explains the character of "saved image" that marks its current identity.

The image and the sanctuary

La image of Our Lady of Swarzewo is a style size late Gothicin polychrome wood, which represents the Virgin Mary sitting, with the Child Jesus in her arms. This is a typical Madonna gótica of Central Europe, in which the Virgin appears as the throne of the Son, with sober and serene features. The Child is usually shown by blessing or holding a symbol (book, balloon or similar), according to the traditional Marian iconography of the time; the exact details of attributes may vary in modern reproductions and in the garments that are added to it as exvotes. It is not known that the image incorporates unique iconographic elements outside this Marian Gothic frame.

The image is venerated in the santuario de Swarzewo, located in the town of Swarzewo, in the voivodship (department) of Pomerania, Polandnear Puck Bay, on the Baltic coast. The temple is known as Marian shrine of Our Lady of Swarzewo, recognized at diocesan level as a pilgrimage center. The current building is a church of a certain size for the local context, with architecture specific to the Marian shrines of the region, but in the sources consulted no consta which has been elevated to the dignity of minor basilica It is a sanctuary of regional and diocesan importance.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of Swarzewo is venerated as “Reina del Mar Polaco” (Queen of the Polish Sea) y of the Baltic fishermenespecially in the Puck area and coastal communities in northern Poland. Its patronage has a strong local and regional roots: it is considered to be protective of those living from the sea, of the families of fishermen and of the people associated with navigation in the region of Pomerania. It is not known, in the sources consulted, that it has been officially proclaimed patron of the whole Polish nation (title which is primarily on Our Lady of Częstochowa).

On the coronation, historical sources indicate that the image was crowned in 1937. Coronation is inserted into the wide movement of Marian coronations in Poland, especially intense between the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century, as an expression of the rooted Marian devotion in the country. However, in accessible documentation the name of the pontiff who authorized the coronation and the name of the pontifical delegate who carried it out,and so it is not possible to strictly affirm the specific canonical details. Since the "coronation of 1937" is mentioned, the historical fact of coronation can be recognized, but, according to the sources, it is not possible to detail more without falling into conjectures.

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Swarzewo is celebrated the September 8, coinciding with the party of Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The main events are organized around this date. pilgrimages to the sanctuary, with the participation of faithful from the parishes of Pomerania and other regions of Poland. There are no official figures of inflow in the sources consulted, but this is a devotion arraigada a nivel regionalwith the constant presence of pilgrims, especially in summer time and around the September feast.

Between the Devotional features They highlight the processions with the image, the prayers for the protection of fishermen and their families, and the traditional blessing related to the sea and fishing work. The invocation is linked to the daily life of the coastal communities, which have transmitted from generation to generation confidence in the intercession of the Virgin as Queen of the Polish Sea. Acts of consecration are also given to the Virgin, novias, and the frequent practice of confession and the Eucharist in the framework of the pilgrimages to the sanctuary, as is usual in the great Polish Marian centers.

Link to the Rosary

In the sources consulted does not contain a specific and documented relationship between the advocation of Our Lady of Swarzewo and a concrete event linked to the prayer of the Rosary (for example, apparitions, particular promises about the Rosary or historical co-fradies explicitly linked to this image).

However, in the context Marian Polish, el Rosary It occupies a central place in the life of piety and in the pilgrimages to the shrines of the Virgin. It is reasonable to state, in continuity with the general practice of the Church, that the prayer of the Rosary usually accompanies devotion to Our Lady of Swarzewo: the joyful, painful, glorious and luminous mysteries allow us to contemplate, together with Mary, the life of Christ and to trust in the maternal protection of the Virgin, especially in the daily difficulties, dangers and work of the peoples of the sea. In this way, even if there is no unique historical link documented, the Rosary is presented as privileged road to live the consecration to the Queen of the Polish Sea and to offer, by their intercession, the life, work and risks of those who leave the sea every day.